For this assignment, compare and contrast two communication techniques that can be used to improve employee trust and engagement. Feel free to use the channels or techniques discussed in “Communicatio

WWW.THEPUBLICMANAGER.ORG 52 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT At the U.S. Army Audit Agency, communication is vital to success and to reaching the next level of organizational performance and employee satisfaction. Communication Provides Foundation for Being a Best Place to Work by Kathleen Skidmore-Williams Tese are tough times to be a federal employee. At nearly every turn, fed- eral workers are facing pay freezes (no cost-of-living increase in three years and counting), no awards, threats of government shutdowns, scal cli s, hiring freezes, and sequestration (and with that, furloughs). Te federal workforce is often denigrated as a key reason why there’s a bloated federal bureaucracy, but in reality there are fewer federal workers doing more work today than ever before and most take their charge to serve their country very seriously—and proudly. Tis year’s average overall score of job satisfaction for participating fed - eral organizations from the survey of federal workers by the Partnership for Public Service was 60.8 percent—the lowest score since the partnership began reporting these statistics in 2003 and a drop of 3.2 percent from last year. Despite this downward trend across the federal government, the U.S.

Army Audit Agency had the highest score for job satisfaction (85.7 percent) of all participating federal agencies—large, midsize, small, and subcomponent.

Te agency also placed rst among 292 subcomponent agencies in this year’s rankings, making it one of the federal government’s best places to work. So, in this challenging environment, what makes a federal agency a great place to work and how does it get there? According to the Army Audit 53 THE PUBLIC MANAGER | SUMMER 2013 Agency’s leader, Auditor General Randall L. Exley, there are a number of important factors but none more impor - tant than communication. “An informed and happy workforce is a productive one,” he says, “and happiness depends, to a large degree, on trust, which is built by e ective and open communication.” A Top Priority Exley has made improved communications a top prior - ity for his agency. “Whether it’s between peers, between supervisor and sta , or between auditor and client, communication is vital to our continued success and to reaching the next level of organizational performance and employee satisfaction,” Exley says. “Improving our already very good commu - nication is of paramount importance up, down, and across the organization.” Te agency serves the Army’s evolving needs by helping senior leaders assess and mitigate risk, and by pro- viding solutions through independent auditing services for the bene t of the American soldier. Tough its authorized level is 577, the agency has 550 sta divided into 20 func - tional audit teams and a support sta directorate. About 80 employees work at the agency’s operations center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; the rest work at 20 eld o ces (18 o ces are spread across the United States; the other two o ces are in Germany and the Republic of Korea). Te agency also deploys auditors to Kuwait and Afghanistan, where they serve alongside soldiers downrange.

Fixing Staf-Management Communication Te auditor general and his executive team regularly visit eld o ces for town hall meetings and separate group meetings with sta members and with supervisors. It was during these group meetings over the past few years that Exley heard a recurring concern voiced by sta of a disconnect in sta -management communications—from top-level leadership to rst-line supervisors. Some sta felt excluded from the decision-making process for their audits. Others felt that their managers didn’t trust them to work independently even though they were capable of doing so. Without an explanation by management, sta were left frustrated. Some sta also voiced that management practices weren’t consistent within eld o ces or across the agency. Auditors had to learn each supervisor’s way of doing business whenever they changed teams.

Exley recognized that this disconnect was creating missed opportunities to capture and expand the ow of ideas that could make the agency an even more ful ll - ing place to work. Consequently, he tasked the agency’s workforce management team to develop an e ective and a ordable plan to train all agency managers, dedicating time and resources to improving communications and fostering open and transparent dialogue. Tailored Training Puts Work into Context After extensively researching training programs and products, the workforce management team recommended an o -the-shelf program from a contractor that provides communications training programs. Te team then devel - oped a short, closed-ended, and anonymous survey for agency employees to get their perception of current com - munication in the organization. Survey results helped ensure that the training focused on areas with the lowest scores. In the end, the team incorporated the training program into a tailored workshop full of practical exer - cises that put the auditors’ work into context. Over six months, managers held 10 two-day sessions of the workshop at various eld o ce locations. Each session was packed with valuable content and practical exercises. Students completed course evaluations, and the team modi ed subsequent iterations of the workshop to make the training even more focused and e ective. During each session, participants were introduced to the principles of communication contained in the o -the- shelf training program. Tey then had opportunities to apply these principles to critical conversations and situ - ations that supervisors regularly encounter in the work - place, including • building trust and creating collaboration • giving praise, criticism, and performance reviews This disconnect was creating missed opportunities to capture and expand the ow of ideas that could make the agency an even more ful lling place to work. WWW.THEPUBLICMANAGER.ORG 54 • gathering information • disagreeing e ectively • resolving con ict.

“When I originally announced the workshop, I spoke about my desire to create a culture in which e ec - tive communication and candor are a natural part of how we work together,” Exley explains. He and other agency senior leaders were very deliberate in explaining why the training was mandatory for all agency leaders—including the auditor general. “I wanted each of our managers to use the workshop as an opportunity to get a little better each day at this important part of our craft, and to coach their team members on the principles of good communi - cation,” he says. His executive team developed a strategic communi - cations message that Exley forwarded to the entire work - force explaining that this e ort was not to correct the mistakes of a few, but to improve the agency as a whole because everyone—no matter how good a communica - tor—had something to gain from the training.

An Overall Communications Strategy Te workshop has been just one part of a multifaceted e ort to improve communication at the Army Audit Agency. Subsequent to the workshops, the auditor gen - eral has asked for feedback from agency leaders on how they are applying the principles taught in the class. At leadership meetings, program directors and audit managers are regularly asked to share what they’ve done or are doing to improve communication with their teams.

Communication has been added to performance stan - dards for supervisors, and it’s become a key criterion for agency awards. Te agency’s second-in-command, Principal Deputy Auditor General Joseph Mizzoni, says sta members are asked three questions: What information do you need to successfully accomplish your mission? What informa - tion do you need to feel like you’re an important part of the organization? What is the best way to get you that information? Te workforce management division also created a handbook of best practices in communication, which was disseminated to all sta . And the agency has dedicated a full-time sta member to its newly formed Strategic Communications Branch. Te auditor general continues to reinforce e ective communications throughout the year through blog posts and email, and at town hall and agency leadership meet - ings. Exley has an image he likes to show at these town hall meetings: a bottle of water next to a dead plant. No matter how good the quality of the water, it cannot bring a dead plant back to life. He extrapolates this to good communication. “No matter how well-organized and well-presented your message is,” he says, “communication will not be e ective if it’s about the wrong things.” He recognizes that e ective communications is hard work. “It’s a balanced mixture of art and scienti c method. It’s more about receiving than sending, and it requires more listening than presenting,” Exley says. He continues: “It’s as much about how you communicate as it is what you communicate. It’s as much about your knowl - edge of your receivers and your relationships with them as it is about the subject of conversation.” Heightening Empowerment Exley notes that employees are seeing a di erence in both the frequency and nature of communications with their Figure 1. Workforce Perception of Raters’ Communications Skills Pre- and Post Workshop Before (%) After (%) Effectively creates an environment of trust 7280 Provides effective feedback on my performance efforts 7180 Asks questions in a way that I can easily understand 8690 Effectively communicates position/point of view without offending me 7784 Communicates effectively when resolving work-related personal con ict\ s that I may have 74 81 55 THE PUBLIC MANAGER | SUMMER 2013 leaders and feedback from sta shows that the course has markedly improved communication (see Figure 1). Audi - tors feel like they have a voice and are listened to. One commented, “Open communication has made relation - ships with peers and supervisors much better.” Additionally, sta feels more empowered. “Generally speaking, we’re given enough authority to talk to people, gather data, analyze it, and make decisions (or at least recommendations) to complete our work,” one sta mem - ber said. Managers are creatively passing on the communica - tion principles they have learned. Some have made “o ce communication” the topic at team meetings or the focus of a eld o ce “lunch and learn.” One eld o ce posts photos and supportive messages; another has a “thank you” whiteboard where anyone can write a note thanking someone for something nice or helpful he or she has done. Some o ces have instituted employee advisory boards to facilitate better communication between sta and management. “As with any new initiative, it will take time to achieve our goals,” Exley says, “ but this progress in such a short time is heartening and lls me with pride in our management team.” One sta member adds, “What makes our agency great is that leadership listens and takes action. We iden - ti ed that communication needed improvement and our leaders stepped up and addressed the de ciency. Te com - munications workshop, our human capital plan, the audi - tor general ’s blogs…. all of these are examples of how our agency listens to the concerns of its employees and then takes meaningful steps to try to address the concerns.” Te emphasis on communication also has helped sta members feel even more like they’re part of a team.

One auditor noted, “My management allows me to voice my opinions openly and freely—they always listen and they make you feel like what you’re saying matters. Tey value your input and say thanks. Tey treat me more as a peer than an employee—it’s about accomplishing the mission as a team.” According to Mizzoni, after listening, leaders must act. “Without the next step (acting upon what the sta says), the words are empty,” he says. “We want to listen because we want to know what to address to make the agency better.” Another sta member commented, “With clear goals and mission and message—and how we go about Auditor General Randall Exley discusses his priorities and solicits feed\ back from staff at a town hall meeting at Fort Meade, Maryland. WWW.THEPUBLICMANAGER.ORG 56accomplishing them successfully—sta are empowered to excel and care about what they do.” One of Exley’s guiding philosophies is to communi - cate broadly and deeply—and to lead transparently. He regularly blogs to employees, sharing what he and his executive team hear at top-level Pentagon and command meetings so sta knows what’s happening almost as soon as he does. According to Mizzoni, “We need to share all the information we can. When you don’t fully disclose all information, people will ll in the blanks with either the wrong or worst-case information.” Mizzoni discussed the auditor general ’s initiatives when he participated in a recent panel discussion on e ective communications sponsored by the Partnership for Public Service with leaders from several other highly successful organizations. Exley says agency auditors are an integral part of the Army team, seeking to improve the Army by providing timely, value-added audit services. “We are the Army’s internal auditors,” he explains. “We audit what matters most to Army senior leaders and quickly deliver results in support of soldiers, civilians, and families.” Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh congratu - lated the agency on winning the Best Places to Work award. “Your accomplishments are great news for the Army, and we are inspired by your sustained and excep- tional performance,” he wrote in a letter. “You stand as a stalwart example of success for our Army organizations and the rest of the federal government. You have estab- lished a high standard of excellence and I am proud to serve on the Army team with you.” Kathleen Skidmore-Williams is chief of the Army Audit Agency’s editorial branch. Her team edits more than 200 audit reports, attestatio\ ns, and follow-up audits each year. In her spare time, she enjoys arguing th\ e merits of the serial comma and sharpening red pencils. Contact her at [email protected].

Staff from the St. Louis eld of ce participate in one of the agen\ cy’s communications workshops.

Communication has been added to performance standards for supervisors and it’s become a key criterion for agency awards. R epro duce d w ith p erm is sio n o f th e c o pyrig ht o w ner. F urth er r e pro ductio n p ro hib ite d w ith out p erm is sio n.